Streaming: https://listen.music-hub.com/dSRtmJ
Buy: https://vlovescats.bandcamp.com/album/no-return-2
On a Monday or a Tuesday somewhere in 2012 a new friend called V asked me to play a gig with them on the Thursday of that week.
Terrified, and with only days to prepare I said, “yes, of course, I would love to.”
V sent me a demo of the tracks we would play. Armed with a folder of drum machine samples, and a couple of VSTs poached from a friend, I was able to transport V’s punk palette into the synthwave era.
The songs remain among the work I am most proud of. Having a limited set of sounds and no time to second guess any decision, the work feels integrated, raw and immediate. V’s voice and words are so honest, desolate and heart-breaking and it transports me back to a moment of both naiveté and rapid transformation in my own life: years of joy and uncertainty.
The gig was a hit. V and I returned to my bedroom studio on and off for the next month or so, re-recording her vocals and bass, and tweaking the arrangements. We released the album and despite my high hopes, the album slipped into obscurity.
Now Le Petit Signalhas re-released the album on vinyl: a transmission from Berlin 10 years ago, a city in the dying embers of a post-war era that lasted more than 60 years, when there were more squats than start-ups; and know-nothing upstarts could sit in their rooms making music all day and night, for little to no money simply because they wanted to, because it helped them feel alive.
Credits
All songs written and performed by V, except for Dawning Day, written by Adrienne Teicher
Synth Arrangements & Production by Adrienne Teicher
Remastered by Mikey Young